The objective of this project is to obtain an understanding of the function and mechanism of action of DR5P aldolase through a comparative study of the structure of the wild-type enzyme and a number of mutationally altered proteins isolated from DR5P aldolase-negative mutants. Specifically, the active site peptide of the wild-type enzyme and that of missense mutant proteins will be compared. The missense mutants cluster within a small portion of the gene and may indicate a region of the protein necessary for catalytic activity or substrate binding. Correlations between the map position, the type of mutation and the alteration in the protein will be made in order to obtain an understanding of the relationship between the genetic map and the protein map of DR5P aldolase.